This week has been so busy work-wise, that it passed in a flurry and left me with withdrawal symptoms for our girl once more. I pined her chunky shape that skinny boat owners are so prejudiced against, and longed for her equally wide and comforting sofa.
I sighed with satisfaction yesterday when I was relieved of such longing by
watching half-a-million pounds worth of boats whizzing up the Thames at
Pangbourne.
After working in Reading in the morning, it
was only right to grab some snacks from the local Co-Op and sit beside the
river. For us, there's no getting away from the canal, or an adjoining river.
We just love it too much. Our internal sat-navs are set as 'canal' by default
destination. You have reached your destination - moor up.
No matter where you are, whether by a river
or a medium-sized puddle, even the hint of a rustle of a carrier bag can summon
ducks from half a mile away, and we were surrounded by more than a dozen of
them within seconds as we sat down on a bench to eat. We quickly scoffed down
several muffins before waving the paper cases at them in surrender. They frowned in
utter disgust - if you've never seen a disgusted duck, picture it as Mr Bean
eyeing up something he'd never eaten before. You'll quickly discover ducks do
in fact have eyebrows.
Thankfully, at that moment a lady with a
child and a baby in a pram saved us from possible disaster by throwing a loaf
of bread at them. A marvellous shot indeed, especially when you have a pram in
one hand and a child in the other.
A crane chugged along nearby, coughing out
exhaust fumes over the river as it turned to work on the newly-refurbished
bridge which stood out, lily-white like a pair of lacy underpants across the
water. Boats roared by underneath, diving in and out of the lock, creating bow
waves that could rival the Severn Bore. Fortunately, the ducks had remembered to take their seasick tablets the morning prior
and rocked about on the waves with only a hint of green around their beaks. Or
maybe that was the male ones. Either way, they still looked green.
The entertainment of the afternoon got even
more interesting as a group of children came out of the activity centre nearby
to dabble about in the colourful kayaks nestled on the river bank. We watched,
a chocolate bar in hand and intrigued, as the teacher in charge told them to
throw their paddles in the water, then 'go fetch' in the kayaks. My face was
just as confused as theirs. Perhaps the teacher was an ex dog trainer. That
would explain a lot.
After a few minutes, the children seemed to
get a better grasp of what was needed to be done, and were happily scrabbling
around in the water using their hands as propulsion. I only hope they
remembered to take their seasick tablets before the next boat came along.
Mum has been busy this week painting the
inside of our girl (I've yet to see it), and packing mugs for the weekend's
'tea on the boat' session. She always packs a spare in case someone happens to
drop by.
I dread to think if two people dying of 'tea thirst' dropped in. One of
us would have to share, and it would NOT be me. No-one else likes chamomile
tea, anyway, so I have the upper-hand in these matters.
Not being the sharing type, I make it an absolute
essential to deliberately forget to take the biscuit jar to the boat each week,
instead, eating them all at home when no-one's looking. It wasn't me.
If you read that bit, don't tell Mum, she doesn't know who it is yet.
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